How Matt McGorry Really Feels About His How to Get Away With Murder Character Being Involved in a Gang Rape

Matt McGorry is a vocal feminist IRL, so when it was revealed that his character on How to Get Away With Murder was covering up his role in a gang rape (the "Trotter Lake" incident), it felt like an … uncomfortable fit for that actor. "Yeah, it was very complicated for me," Matt told Cosmopolitan.com at a HTGAWM panel at the Paley Center for Media in New York Thursday night.

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"Sexual assault is such a prevalent issue, and it's something in my mind that is pretty unforgivable. And I think we live in a culture that already is so prone to shaming women, and not believing the victims, and saying that the woman asked for it in some way, whether she drank too much or dressed a certain way, so I think a lot of times we have to be very vigilant about the narrative [on TV]. It can't have been their fault, and it can't be excusable."

The storyline made him lose respect for his character, he says, and he looks forward to seeing how showrunner Pete Nowalk is going to navigate the fallout for Asher's likability going forward. "We don't really see sexual assault as a storyline very often with series regulars," McGorry says. "Sometimes you see it with guest stars on a show like Law & Order, where that person can die or go to prison after, but we don't really see it with people who are supposed to be in the show and remain likable, so it's going to be very interesting to see how [Pete] navigates that."

Unfortunately, he adds, he does think the story is a "relatively realistic one" given Asher's background. "He was very funny and lighthearted previously, but that's part of his rich, male, white privilege as well. Making inappropriate jokes and actually [being] kind of sexist even though it's lighthearted — it's not really OK."

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